Bark scraping machine



April 3, 1951 A. P. SVICKAS BARK SCRAPING MACHINE Filed Sept. 24, 1947 IN VEN TOR.

- ANTHONY I? 5A v/c/A s,

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A rroR/VEY Patentedl Apr. 3, 1951 UNITED Si`lk,'.I.`.lE`.Sy PTENT GFFICE BARKQ SCRAPING MACHINE Anthony P; Savickas, Boynton Beach, Fla.

Application September 24, 1947, Serial No; 775,812

' leave aAhighly finished surface free Vfrom marks of the Scrapers employed. Y o

A further objectief the invention1 resides in the provision Vof a machine which lwillV remove the relatively thin bark -in extremely close grained woods, such as bamboo, without marring the exposed wood surface, and which Willffollow all irregular surfaces, cleaning off the bark completely and leaving4 the irregular 'surfacesY completely cleaned and exposed in order not to detract fromY the desired ornamental appearance of the wood and the articles to be manufactured therefrom.

Another object of the invention resides in the extreme simplicity of the-device, possessing few and simple parts that are easily and quickly replaced in the eventof breakage, is strong, durable, theaInto.` manufacture andso. constructed andv operated as to minimize bodily danger if accidently,A

contacted by the operator while in use.

It is a wellV known fact that in thel manufacture o of wood-articles from such material as bamboo, it essential, in order-to produce an article capable.' of-maintaining its original bright-color againststaining or discolc-ring, that the bark be fl-rstremoved in order fortheextremelyclose grained body of the Woodto'. season naturally. Also, it has been foundthat the removal of the bark by hand scraping or sanding is both tedious and expensive and fails to produce a surface free-V 1 claim.. (c1. 1.441207) method enabling an operator to debark in a few4 minutes a piece of bamboothat, if scraped by hand, would ordinarily require a couple of hours, and also enabling an operator to obtain a much nerproductthan could be obtainedhby hand:

scraping- Other important objects and advantages ofthe invention will be readily apparent during the course of the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a side elevation of amachine constructed in accordance with the invention,

` Figure 2 is a plan view thereof,

Figure 3 is a transverse section taken on line 3 3 of Figure 1,

Figure 4 is a fragmentary side elevation of abeltand scraper illustratingV the manner in whichV the Scrapers follow the irregularities of the wood surface,

Figure 5 is a section taken on line 5-45 of Figure 2 ofscraper and,

Figure 7 is a furtherV modified form of scraper.- Like numerals are employedto designate like` parts throughout the several figures of the draw``v justable in a Vhorizontal plane. Thebearing E rotatably supports a-drive shaft 8, carrying at its outer end a relatively wide pulley 9 and atits opposite end a drive pulley I,-having connection with any desired source of power. 'I-'hepulley I0` is:` of a' predetermined diameter for proper speedof `rotation of the pulley 9. The `bearing 'I supports a shaft I I, upon the outer end of which is mounted an idler pulley I2. An endless belt I3 engages and travels with the pulleys 9 and I2, in the direction indicated by the arrow in Figure 1 and travels over a Work table I4. The table is of a width corresponding to the Width of the belt and has its ends terminating adjacent the pulleys 9 and I2. A work engaging fence I5 is carried by the work table for its entire length and is provided wth a right angle head stop IB. The table and work fence are supported upon the base 5 by brackets I'I. VThe belt I3 may be formed of any desirable material having strength and flexibility.

Mounted transversely of the belt I3, at equidistantly spaced points throughout its length, are a plurality of scraper -blades I8, formed of nex- Figure 6 is a perspective view of a modied form*4 ible spring steel and having an upward and rearwardly inclined blade portiony the upper edge of which is sharpened at I9 throughout its length. The blade I8 is bent along a line 20 to a predetermined angle in order to provide an attaching leaf 2 I, engaging the belt for its entire Width and held in xed position upon the belt by suitable fastening devices 22, the heads of which are countersunk in the underside of the belt.v Two such fastening devices have been illus;rated for each blade, though more may be employed for larger blades employed in extra heavy duty work. The blade I8 flexes upon the bend line 20 in use, but certain exing of the blade will also appear throughout the cutting portion of theblade When unusual irregularities in the surface being treated are encountered. As illustrated, the blades incline rearwardly from the line of travel, hence impart a gentle but denite scraping action upon the thin bark of the bamboo, the slight distortion of the belt and blade permitting conformation of the blade to the irregularities of the Wood, See Figure 4, and imparting a scraping action to both the projections and indentations of the wood.

In the use f the invention, the Abelt is placed in motion, travelling in the direction of the arrow, at which time a section of the wood to be scraped is placed upon the Scrapers, lying against the fence I5, wi-.h one terminal end engaging the head stop I6. A slight hand pressure upon the wood causes the blades to gradually remove the thin bark, while the operator slowly revolves the section of wood so that its entire surface will be evenly scraped. The head stop I6 prevents endwise movement of the Wood under the scraping action of the blades. The blades are of such width as to accommodate sections of wood of varying diameters, as shown by dotted lines in Figure 3. The inclining of the blades away from the line of travel minimizes the danger to the operator in the event he should fall upon or accidently bring his hands into contact with the blades.

In Figure 6 a modified form of blade has been illustrated at 23, having an attaching leaf 24 and an integral scraping. blade section 25 bent therefrom along aline 2S to lend flexibiliiy thereto. In

this form of the invention, the blade is cut intosections 21, With the cuts terminating in enlarged openings 28. The sections 2l are provided with sharpened cutting edges 29. In this form of blade, the individual cutting sections 21 will permit variable flexing for contour scraping and for riding over and into the irregularities of the Wood. The mounting and inclination of the blade 23 correspond to those of the blade I8.

In Figure 7, a further modifie-d form of blade has been illustrated at3, having an attaching leaf 3l, integral With the inclined blade section 4 30 and bent therefrom along a predetermined line 32. The cutting edge 33, in this form of the invention has been formed concave to more readily engage a greater area of the wood section during its travel. The mounting and inclination of this blade also correspond to those of the blade I8.

All of the blades have their corners rounded, as shown, to avoid gouging or damaging of the Wood bers during the scraping operation and further to minimize danger to the operator when contacted.

It will be seen from the foregoing that an extremely simple and efficient machine has been provided, to debark in a minimum of time thin skinned Wood having unusually close fibers, without damaging the under surface of the Wood. The machine as actually used has proven highly satisfactory and results in an enormous saving in labor. The parts are such as to require a minimum of attention and replacement costs hav proven negligible. 'i

It will of course be understood that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangement' shown, but that it includes Within its purview whatever changes fairly come within either the terms or the spirit of the appended claim.

Having described my invention, what I claim is:

In a debarking machine comprising a base,I bearings carried by the base, shafts supported byv the bearings, pulleys carried by the shafts, an endless belt supported upon the pulleys, a plurality of ilexible scraping blades, positioned trans- Y versely of the belt, said blades inclined away from the direction of travel of the belt, a work table for supporting the upper flight of the belt, a work fence mounted on said base adjacent one side of said upper flight for maintaining work in scraping relation to the blades and a head s.op carriedvv by the fence and extending above and across said upper flight for retaining the work against longitudinal movement under the scraping actionof the blades.

ANTHONY P. SAVICKAS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in th': le of this patent: i

UNITED STATES PATENTS 39 Great Britain ;V.- Jan, 9,1858-2'] 

